Return To Human Imagination

Star Wars movie fans have been known to camp out of the theatres
for weeks to be the first ones to sit in the audiences for the
premiere of three of the most anticipated motion pictures in the
history of cinema. George Lucas has been milking this "Star Wars"
cow since it all began in 1977 with the first installment that
would soon be followed by the equally successful The Empire
Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

During recent studies, it has been shown that these films have
not achieved their heights of success of the technologies
involved in the special effects or costumes, but because of the
deeply rooted human stories in the films. "These are the elements
that have made films successful since D.W. Griffith or Charlie
Chaplin. We connect and we relate to our equals as long as they
experience and portray our everyday lives." says John Coleman Jr.
a film producer in Burbank, California. That is a quality that is
unfortunately lost in more recent films such as Lord of The Rings
and most of the comic book remakes, because the producers put too
much emphasis on the special effects and how much computers can
now achieve and much less on the human interaction.

The reason why Spider Man 2 or Shrek appealed to audiences is
because their filmmakers made sure to spend another three or four
months polishing those story areas that click with the heart and
mind and not just with the eyes.

Film is an interesting medium because although you "consume" it
with your eyes, the best ones affect all your senses more deeply
such as hearing, taste and sometimes even touch because the
filmmaker leaves it all at the viewer's imagination.

Like the original Star Wars or King Kong or Steven Spielberg's
Jaws, the viewers were given just enough information to let their
imaginations roar. Now, everything seems to be chewed and put in
the audience's mouth to digest.

There has been a lot of talk about a certain
Machiavelli Hangman
breaking all of cinema's conventions while never leaving the
same location. Although this may not be completely original,
considering Quentin Tarantino's interesting film debut with
Harvey Keithel Reservoir Dogs, it is nevertheless encouraging.
Twelve Angry Men much like Machiavelli Hangman relied mostly
on human interaction and dialogue and mostly took place in the
deliberation room. Machiavelli Hangman is said to be up for a
Christmas release.

Steven Spielberg was quoted saying that his special effects crew
can produce anything he can imagine and ironically, this may be a
liability to imagination itself because it limits the audience's
creativity in trying to fill in the blanks.